Trump says Strait of Hormuz deal could happen today or tomorrow amid Iran-Oman talks

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that communication with the country’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was very “difficult at the moment.”

Khamenei, who was wounded in the U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the Middle East war, has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, who was killed in the same attack.

“It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but in any case, his presence is a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue,” Pezeshkian said.

The younger Khamenei has communicated through written statements, but his low profile at a time when Iran is in conflict with the United States has led to speculation about his relations with other top officials.

He notably did not appear at his father’s funeral ceremonies last month.

Pezeshkian defended his leader, however, insisting he had been able to hold productive meetings with him and had been met with “kindness and very sound logic.”

“Unfortunately, the current situation allows some malicious people to describe him differently and to present a different image of him,” he said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said Wednesday they had attacked another Saudi oil tanker, the second in a day as the rebels pressed on with their declared maritime blockade of the kingdom.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement the rebels targeted the Saudi oil tanker Daisy in the Gulf of Aden, south of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with a ballistic missile.

The attack appears to coincide with a tanker that reported hearing a “loud explosion in proximity to the vessel” to the U.K. Maritime Operations Centre. The UKMTO, a U.K. navy maritime security organization, fields reports of incidents from commercial vessels. 

There were no crew members injured in the explosion and no environmental impacts reported, according to the UKMTO. The report was made at about 4:30 p.m. local time.

The Houthis have said they will target any Saudi oil tanker transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. They have claimed to have targeted at least six Saudi-flagged vessels since July 22.

-CBS/AFP

Oman and Iran appear to be closing in on a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran is warning it will be only open to traffic once the U.S. ends its blockade.

Iran and Oman have already agreed on a route for ships transiting the strait and are putting finishing touches on arrangements for jointly managing the waterway, Tehran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.

But official sources briefing Iranian media stressed any reopening of the strait would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as its commitment to end its own naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

“The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests,” the Iranian foreign ministry said.

-CBS/AFP

The reinstated blockade on Iranian ports has now redirected 48 vessels since it was restarted last month, U.S. Central Command said.

The blockade, which was restarted July 14 after the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran fell apart, stops all ships entering and exiting Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. redirected three ships in the past day, according to CENTCOM.

Two ships have been boarded and two have been disabled, numbers which have not changed since the U.S. boarded the Comoros-flagged tanker M/T Charminar on July 25.

Israel’s military resumed strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday despite ongoing talks, blaming a ceasefire violation by militant group Hezbollah.

The fresh strikes, accompanied by the first evacuation warning in weeks, came as the United States led diplomacy between Israel and Lebanon in Rome aimed at putting an end to hostilities, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the south.

“In response to a blatant violation of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, the IDF has begun conducting precise strikes in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement, shortly after telling residents to evacuate the town of Mansouri in the south.

One person died and 11 were wounded in a separate strike, Lebanese state media said.

In Rome, Israel requested the day’s talks with Lebanon end three hours early, a source in the negotiations told AFP, saying the head of the Israeli delegation, U.S. ambassador Yechiel Leiter, had blamed alleged “misleading leaks” by the Lebanese side.

But the talks were expected to resume on Thursday for a third and final day.

Iran and Oman have agreed to a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the passage, Tehran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.

“The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.

In addition to referring to “certain third parties,” the foreign ministry went on to more blatantly blame the U.S. and said they cannot assure safe passage through the strait despite a deal on a new route.

“The Iran-Oman understanding in and of itself cannot mean that the strait has become safe for passing ships, because the factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure — stemming from the United States, especially the naval blockade and other threatening actions and measures against Iran and its interests — still exist,” the ministry said.

The agreement would now allow the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table under terms set out in the memorandum of understanding in June, sources told CBS News, which calls for a 60-day period of free transit through the strait for 60 days.

-CBS/AFP

The United States on Wednesday lifted sanctions targeting Iraq’s Fly Baghdad airline, a company it had previously designated for alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In an update to its website, the U.S. Treasury lifted sanctions on Fly Baghdad and two of its aircraft, but maintained its sanctions against a man previously identified as the company’s owner, Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani.

Washington had originally designated the airline, its aircraft and owner in January 2024, alleging it provided support to the IRGC’s Quds Force and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

A U.S. Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the airline had been removed after going through the department’s administrative reconsideration process.

“FBA (Fly Baghdad Airlines) has demonstrated major changes to their operations such that their listing is no longer warranted,” the official said.

For weeks, the Pentagon has refused to disclose the findings from the Army’s investigation into the deadliest attack against U.S. troops during the Iran war. Now, a key Senate Democrat is calling on military leaders to release the more than 350-page report stemming from the probe.

“I now request you immediately release the findings of that investigation publicly and provide Congress with a copy of the full investigation, all underlying documentation, and any additional classified review of the attack,” Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin wrote to the head of U.S. Central Command in a letter obtained by CBS News.  

Six Americans were killed and dozens more were injured in the March 1 strike at a U.S. command post in Kuwait, one of several U.S.-allied countries in the Persian Gulf region that was targeted by intense Iranian missile and drone attacks after the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury.

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The U.N. rights chief, Volker Turk, said Wednesday he was “alarmed” by the surge in executions in Iran since March, with the death penalty being used by Tehran to “instill fear.”

In a statement, Turk said at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 individuals in cases linked to protests at the start of the year.

“Over 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges,” he said. “Executions for drug-related offences are also continuing at an alarming rate.”

On March 19, Iran executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favor of the U.S. and Israel, the first officially announced executions relating to the nationwide anti-government demonstrations that peaked on Jan. 8 and 9.

“I am alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March, and that capital punishment continues to be used to instill fear among the population and suppress dissent,” said Turk.

“Persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling. Confessions have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment,” he said.

Several executions have reportedly been carried out in public, with some reportedly conducted only weeks after arrest, said Turk. 

The Iranian-Omani proposal — that is currently under negotiation — to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would have no tolls or service fees for ships transiting the waterway, sources told CBS News.

Under the proposal which Iran and Oman have been negotiating for several days, ships entering the strait would use the route closest to Iran, under Tehran’s coordination, sources said. To exit, ships would use the route closest to Oman, coordinated by Muscat.

That proposal would also exclude tolls or service fees to transit the vital waterway, a major sticking point in the various talks held between the U.S., Iran and mediators. 

If approved, the U.S. and Iran would return to the negotiating table under terms set out in the memorandum of understanding in June, according to the sources, which calls for a 60-day period of free transit through the strait for 60 days.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with the country’s state broadcaster IRIB that talks with Oman on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have been positive.

“Iran is trying to formulate the necessary mechanisms for future arrangements for the management of shipping traffic in this strategic crossing, in cooperation with Oman, and the final results of these negotiations will be announced after the conclusion,” Baqaei said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday that they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu, in the Red Sea, as the rebels pressed on with their declared maritime blockade of the kingdom.

This was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the start of the blockade on July 22, a Houthi military spokesman said.

The group “successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker ‘Wafa’ in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a number of ballistic missiles,” Yahya Saree said in a video statement.

The Houthis declared they will escalate attacks in the northern Red Sea because Saudi Arabia is diverting its oil tankers there from the south in response to their blockade.

President Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday or Thursday, while Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement to reopen the critical waterway and potentially help bring an end to the war.

Mr. Trump was asked by reporters traveling with him in California about a report on the Axios news site that an announcement on the Strait of Hormuz could be made on Wednesday.

“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” he said, speaking on Tuesday evening California time. “A lot of progress has been made.”

The possible agreement emerging from talks between Iran and Oman calls for ships to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, two regional officials told The Associated Press. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, which was an open international waterway before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. 

In an exchange with reporters on Monday, the U.S. president reiterated his public opposition to tolls being charged in the strait. “I’m not going to let them charge,” Mr. Trump said. “Anybody’s going to charge, we’ll charge.”

An Iranian source familiar with the direct Iran-Oman talks has told CBS News the discussions between Tehran and Muscat are now focused largely on the mechanics of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

Under the current proposal, ships entering the strait would use the channel closest to Iran, with Iran coordinating inbound traffic, while vessels leaving the strait would use the Omani side, with Muscat managing outbound traffic. 

The proposal also includes a “service fee,” with the revenue split between Iran and Oman. 

According to the source, the broad outlines have largely been agreed upon, with the remaining discussions focused on implementation and timing.

“The southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway,” U.S. Central Command said later Tuesday. 

The military added that U.S. forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in safely transiting through the strait over the past three months.

The U.S. has used nearly all of its global stockpile of long-range precision missiles during the war with Iran, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News. 

Specifically, the U.S. has used virtually all of its Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, the sources said. Reuters was first to report that the U.S. had used “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles during Operation Epic Fury. 

CBS News has previously reported that the U.S. has dwindling stockpiles of defensive interceptors and long-range missiles, which has become a pressure point within the administration, and that the U.S. cannot sustain the rate at which it expended precision munitions early in the war with Iran. 

U.S. officials said there are limited inventories of the ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles, and that the most pressing concern involves the number of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, which have been used faster than the industry can replace them.  

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to CBS News: “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously dismissed concerns about the U.S. stockpile.

“That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle and ultimately our stockpiles are great, and they’re only getting stronger,” Hegseth said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 14. 

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